How Good is Obamacare? (Hint: Pretty Damn Good.)

[FarLeftFist]

Everyone in 2014 will be stunned once Obamacare kicks into full gear.

1. There will be non-profit insurers offering health care plans in the exchanges on top of traditional private insurers (regulated STRONGLY by the health care law). The public option never really disappeared. It was just replaced with non-profit language that will turn into non-profit options just as strong as the proposed public option. Besides, many states are integrating public options into their exchanges.

2. Medicaid will be significantly expanded to 15 million poor uninsured americans in 2014. People in deep poverty will have significantly better lives. Everyone at less than 133% of the poverty level will be covered under medicaid. Native Americans will be insured for the first time in their lives and will enjoy modernized health care. The Indian Health Care Act is reauthorized and strengthened by this medicaid expansion.

3. Medicare's trust fund will be extended 12 years. Seniors have free preventive care and check ups. Lots of money have been saved through waste trimming and fraud recollecting.

4. Small business tax credits will have their amounts magnified for small businesses in 2014. When juxtaposed with the strongly regulated exchanges, coverage will be very affordable for small businesses.

MORE at link: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/01/20/1056796/-some-shocking-Obamacares-facts

[Cirque du So-What]

1. It'll take a lot more articles like this

to counter all the 'Dracula stories' being circulated even by people who frequent this website. K & R for bringing these good things to everyone's attention.

[great white snark]

11. +1

Thank you Cirque du So-What.

[Historic NY]

30. +1

needs works lots of low info voters

[TheKentuckian]

2. Strongly regulated??? A cartel with an anti-trust exemption? With what budget?

By who, when regulation is largely left to the overwhelmed states supposedly regulating them now? With what consequences aside from access to the sequestered and weak exchanges?

If the regulation will be strong, then you imply it isn't particularly weak now because there isn't enough there to go from a joke at best (which is what I saw/see) to STRONG.

[Major Nikon]

3. There's one county in California that created their own insurer, which gives them single-payer

[TheWraith]

4. Vermont is trying to do the same thing.

Which is, actually, how Canada got single-payer. One very small (population wise) province did it, and all the others eventually followed.

[Major Nikon]

5. Good to know that Vermont is doing this. I suspected they would be the first

When the public sees the potential savings, I don't think the other states are going to have much choice but to implement. Imagine socialism coming to Texas by public demand. Limbaugh would have a fucking stroke.

[WCGreen]

13. Back in 2004, Jerry Springer was contemplating a run for Ohio Gov....

I was invited to a luncheon with some key players here in Cuyahoga County to meet the shock talk king.

His main plan for Ohio was to establish a single payer health care package that would then take bids from private insurance companies and be monitored by a state board that would collect performance and cost data.

[msongs]

6. if you can afford medical it may be good, and it's certainly good for the hospital industry nt

[bluedigger]

7. Cool. Only two more years to affordable treatment.

Hope I make it.

[zipplewrath]

22. Careful

This article was about insurance, not health care. Treatment is still expensive, and getting more so every year. I've known many people who were anxious to get their health insurance, only to find out that the care was STILL more than they could afford.

[lark]

25. Don't count on it

Exchanges currently in place in NB and MA average $900/mo. cost - PLUS deductibles, co-pays and percentages due. Some states will come out ok, BUT I GUARANTEE that some states will not. FL and probably all the south will either not allow these, or they will be so expensive as to be worthless.

They disallowed pre-existing conditions, but insurance co's are instead starting to charge extra for being over-weight or smoking, even if the weight condition is caused by medical issues. That's just the beginning, will they also start charging extra for diabetes, asthma etc?

[bluedigger]

29. You people really know how to piss in my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

I don't think my fucking unicorn is going to get me there.

[Left Coast2020]

31. Me too.

I'm way overdue for some big time dental fixers--namely root canel work.

[UTUSN]

8. R#21 & K n/t

[quakerboy]

9. I will believe it when I have health care

that does not cost more than my home. And probably not before that point.

[HopeHoops]

10. No, no, no. You need to watch FOX. These are DEATH PANELS!!! OBAMA-CIDE!

Or whatever the fuck they call it now. Facts aren't optional on FOX, they're forbidden.

[Mojorabbit]

12. It will be difficult for the system to absorb 15 mill medicaid patients. I hope it goes smoothly. nt

[BlueDemKev]

14. That's assuming, of course, it makes it to 2014

I, for one, cannot afford to have the Affordable Care Act (or "ObamaCare&quot repealed. I learned last year when I switched from a group to an individual plan that the term "pre-existing condition" is an extremely broad brush. I finally was offered a policy but only after I agreed to a 100% mark-up on my monthly premium. At least I have piece of mind knowing that my insurance coverage cannot be cancelled if I become very sick. If the Supreme Court rules the law unconstitutional or Republicans win this November, everything we fought so hard for in 2009 (and early 2010) will be lost. And the fact that the majority of the American people want the law repealed (not revised--REPEALED) just leaves me so confused. Don't people know they're shooting themselves in the foot? Are people so stupid they actually believe that no one in their family will ever get sick?

[jwirr]

15. I am wondering about the statement in #2. Indian Health care is a very old system on all

reservations. It is and has been a system like Medicare/Medicaid and all enrolled Natives are eligible for it as far as I know. I suspect that all that is happening on this issue is that it has been extended once again which is good.

[eridani]

16. There is no meaningful regulation, period

Regulation by mandated Medical Loss Ratios has been tried by 15 states, and failed utterly to control costs. Furthermore, the regulations are being written by insurance companies.

Medicaid relies on state funding, and states can't possibly take care of all the newly eligible.

Non-profits have to compete with for-profits, and that will solidify the race to the bottom.

[jillan]

17. Only in the mind of a republican is healthcare a bad thing.

[Nye Bevan]

18. I'm convinced that Obamacare will be Obama's secret weapon this fall.

The Dems are keeping fairly quiet about the Affordable Care Act right now, allowing the Republicans to go on record criticizing it and promising to repeal it. Then Obama will be able to run ads where chronic disease sufferers ask why Romney wants to allow insurers to discriminate based upon pre-existing conditions, and why Romney wants to allow insurers to re-impose lifetime maximums.

[Tarheel_Dem]

19. K&R

[SemperEadem]

20. but it wasn't done my way!!!!!! damn it!!!! damn it all!!!!

/sarcasm

I just want to be able to have health care coverage that doesn't chain me to a job I've grown to dislike, but has good benefits.

[zipplewrath]

21. More detail

1. There will be non-profit insurers offering health care plans in the exchanges on top of traditional private insurers (regulated STRONGLY by the health care law). The public option never really disappeared. It was just replaced with non-profit language that will turn into non-profit options just as strong as the proposed public option. Besides, many states are integrating public options into their exchanges.

This is really vague. I'm wondering frome where these nonprofits will spring. And these exchanges will ultimately have to pay for the same medical procedures that everyone else does. Since there is precious little in the law to control health care costs, they'll have to charge the same basic costs as everyone else. Health care isn't a "15%" problem. And health care is predicted by the White House to rise at 7% per year for the forseeable future. How do exchanges affect that at all?

If there is a ray of hope here, it will take more than just 2014 to straighten it out. I can see a path by which the hospitals themselves create insurance companies. Basically going back to the HMO model of the '90s. This moves health care away from "fee for service" and allows the health care providers to actually manage the costs of health care.

[cilla4progress]

23. I have one of these plans - in Washington State!

It wasn't super easy to find out about...but it's a great plan. I make my $341 / mo. premium check out to the "Washington State Treasurer." I cover myself and my college freshman daughter (my husband / her dad works for the local government - county - it would cost $800 / mo. to insure us!). $500 deductibles, $10 co-pay, get my treatment at the local non-profit "Community Health Clinic" - really good staff.

Can't say enough good about it; wish more people knew about it. My suspicion is the State is keeping this on the down-low to avoid the wrath of the private insurance industry here.

[davidthegnome]

24. We'll see

If it isn't defeated by the Supreme Court, first of all.

I think Obama has the right idea - I don't think he has enough support within the halls of power to really get the ball rolling though. The way I see it... a public option is a public option, if it's worded differently it's because it is something different. Non profit options... oh I'd love to see that, but I'm not going to hold my breath. It's not so much because I lack faith in Obama - rather, I lack faith in Congress, in the Senate, to actually accomplish anything that would be beneficial to the majority of us. I lack faith in the ability of individual states to properly regulate and mandate this new reform.

Also... having two parents who work for a hospital, I know what health care costs, especially if you need an MRI or something similar. Having been uninsured for a number of years now (I'm 27) I have a very good idea of what it costs to have a variety of tests - to have a hand repaired after a serious accident. Even just for your regular visits to your primary care physician. I'm up to 10K in medical debt and though there are free-care programs available, a lot of that debt would not be covered by it. I'm stuck with that debt until I find a way to pay it - or die. If not for local free-care programs, I'd be over 25K in debt.. so while I prefer the 10, I still can't pay it.

Keep in mind that the Republican plan to kill Obamacare is still underway and as far as I can tell picking up speed. I have attempted to read the bill a couple of times, but to be quite honest it makes my head spin. If only we could put things into more simple language. My reading comprehension skills are fine, but page after page of legal jargon drives me nutty.

We'll see. It's not 2014 yet - maybe things will change, maybe Obamacare will accomplish everything you say and more. I hope you're right.

[CAPHAVOC]

26. Gave away the issue

To the GOP and went to bed with the insurance companies and Big Pharma. SCOTUS hopefully will kill it. Then Obama should run on expanding medicare for everybody. I think it is a disaster. The GOP won't kill it. They will use it against Democrats. If you had Medicare you would be fine. Never worry about health insurance crap. And it is even Constitutional.

[Honeycombe8]

27. Most policies have an annual out of pocket cap. Mine is $10k.

So no matter what happens to me, the most I will have to pay out of pocket for covered expenses in any given year is $10k. Now, I would end up owing more than that because not all expenses are covered. I think that's the way that works.

I don't know when your illness or injury happened, but under Obamacare, you would've been able to be included in your parents' policy up to age 26 (in case they had better coverage, which they probably did).

You are right, though. Health care isn't free here and will not be anytime soon. But this is a lot better than before.

I have already accessed the government exchange site to price policies, in case I'm laid off. I would be able to buy my group policy under COBRA for 18 months, and then I'd be on my own. I was able to see what the approximate cost of what a less exensive policy might cost. If I were poor, I'd qualify for a subsidy. But I'll have to pay the whole premium, since I'm not poor.

Before, it would've been almost impossible to get a number of reliable quotes. You can try to do that now with homeowner's insurance and auto insurance. You have to provide personal information, then you get spammed or telemarketed to death without getting a reliable quote. AND they want to check y our credit rating before giving an estimated quote. But now, with a few clicks, you will see a whole list of options available for you. This is very helpful. And it's available now.

If you want steak, this hamburger may not seem too tasty to you. But if you are starving, as many people are, this hamburger is very welcome, indeed.

[Alcibiades]

28. "The Bush tax cuts for the rich will expire at the end of this year too."

I'll believe that one when I see it.

The administration did make a number of errors in P.R.

1. It's the PPACA
Not nearly so snappy as the "Obamacare" label used by the right.

2. The main provisions don't come into effect until 2014

Right now, the GOP keeps hammering that premiums have gone up since "Obamacare passed." Never mind that Obamacare hasn't done anything meaningful that might bend the cost curve yet, or that the costs that they lament eing imposed on employees and consumers have been increasing since before the PPACA, and this was actually on the the rationales behind providing it.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypipes/2011/10/10/higher-health-insurance-premiums-this-year-blame-obamacare/

I'd also like to know where the hell the insurance companies are. They wrote the damn thing, and the president gave them every damn thing they wanted. Why don't they answer the right when they attack "Obamacare?" Some allies of this administration they have proved to be.